Communists took power in most of China in
1949. The Americans would not allow the new communist government to join the
Security Council. Instead the Chinese place on the Security Council remained
occupied by the non-communist nationalists who, by 1949, only controlled the
Chinese island of Taiwan.

The argument about who should represent China
became another episode in the bitter Cold War. The Soviet Union demanded that
the nationalist Chinese should leave the Security Council and give way to the
communist Chinese. In protest, the Soviet representatives walked out of the
Security Council in January 1950.

In June 1950 North Korea invaded South Korea
and the Security Council met to discuss its response. The absence of representatives
from the Soviet Union meant that they were not able to veto the American
proposal to help South Korea.